


The Course of Love Never Did Run Smooth

by mggislife2789



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, F/M, Modern Royalty, Reader-Insert, References to Shakespeare, Shakespeare Quotations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-30
Updated: 2018-08-30
Packaged: 2019-07-04 15:31:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15844185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mggislife2789/pseuds/mggislife2789
Summary: Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters or their original stories. This is only for fun. It's where my brain goes after the credits roll. No copyright intended. Better safe than sorry. ;)





	The Course of Love Never Did Run Smooth

Maybe there would be a day when she didn’t have security following four steps behind her every single day, but apparently today was not that day and tomorrow wasn’t looking very promising either.

As she sat in front of the vanity her parents, the King and Queen of Eskea, had so kindly bestowed upon her and brushed her hair, she could sense the heavy footsteps of the guards outside her bedroom. At 23, she desperately wanted to go out on her own and not have giant bodyguards shadowing her, but that was what her life entailed and although she was sometimes wistful, she had long since accepted her fate. 

Knock. Knock.

“Who is it?”

“Your favorite Queen in the whole world.”

Smiling to herself, she placed the brush down on the vanity. “Come in, Mother.”

Rarely did her father join her mother when visiting her bedroom, so as soon as she noticed her father’s larger than life frame hovering hesitatingly behind her mother, she knew something was different. “What is it?”

“Why does it have to be anything?” Her mother asked.

They were never any good at lying or keeping secrets. “Because Father never comes into my bedroom and you’re both being squirrelly.”

The Queen gazed warily back at her husband. “Okay, we do have something to tell you, but you’re not going to like it, Y/N.”

She took a deep breath and braced herself, but she never expected what came out of her father’s mouth.

“Your mother and I have managed to broker a peace between the Eskea and Lasmye.” Okay...that was a good thing. Her country had been on the brink of war with Lasmye for centuries. In a modern world with tensions far and wide, Europe seemed to be fairly stable except for their two countries.

“And?”

“We did that by betrothing you to Lasmye’s Prince - Spencer Reid.”

She felt a stabbing pain in her stomach as her breath caught in her chest. This couldn’t be. It was the one thing they promised to never do to her - betroth her against her will. “You promised?!” She yelled, standing up and backing away from the two people she used to trust more than anything. “You promised!”

“Eskea and Lasmye were mere weeks away from war. Both of our countries would lose countless innocent lives. Since your father and I were brought together in the same way, and the Prince of Lasmye is a good man, we felt it was the only way to save our countries from extinction. You will learn to love each other.” She spoke the words confidently, but her eyes betrayed her fear - her fear of their country’s future and the future of her relationship with her daughter.

For a moment, Y/N just processed the information, unable to comprehend the betrayal she was assured would never happen. When her parents attempted to step forward and console her, she backed away. “Don’t!”

Spinning around, she ran out of the door, followed closely of course by her trusty bodyguards, assuring she’d never truly have a moment alone to process her future.

\-----

In Lasmye, Prince Spencer Reid was told of his own betrothal. Given Queen Diana’s status as the sole ruling monarch, she had been having trouble keeping her country in order, and with age came exhaustion. She was tired of holding it together all on their own. 

The prince was less than pleased, having told his mother time and time again that he wanted to choose his future queen himself, but he knew better than to fight his mother. 

This was not going to fun.

With the announcement of their betrothal came a ball to celebrate the occasion. The nobles as well as some of the common folk from each country would be invited to celebrate while the betrothed did their best not to kill each other and take their countries down at the same time.

Looking in the mirror, he took in the outfit his mother had suggested wearing. The purple velvet blazer was tailored perfectly to his frame, as was every other item of clothing. Nothing less for the Prince of Lasmye. Black pants, a white shirt, a thin black tie and smooth, black leather gloves completed the ensemble, as did the epaulette on his shoulder, depicting his family crest. 

When he heard a knock, he called his mother in.

“You look very handsome, Spencer.”

“Thank you, Mother.”

She could see how miserable he was, but their countries were in danger and she knew he would step up to the plate. “Princess Y/N is a good woman. I know you will come to love her in time.”

“I’m not so sure, but I’ll do my best for Lasmye.”

It was all she could ask. Linking her arm in his, she walked with him toward the grand hall to meet his future queen.

\-----

She’d barely spoken to her mother and father in the ensuing weeks and now that the night of the ball was here - the night she would meet the man she was supposed to spend her life with - she couldn’t even look at them. She would do as they asked, for the sake of the country she loved if nothing else, but the idea of being married to a man she didn’t know, whether he had good intentions or no, made her queasy. 

“Your dress!” 

She spun around to see one of the citizens that she had invited from the marketplace personally. “You look so beautiful, Princess!”

“Please, Laila,” she replied. “Call me Y/N.”

“Only when not in the presence of your royal court, Princess.”

If nothing else good came of this night, her dress would stand out. Delicate light gray lace with an organza overlay served as the backdrop for a twirling rainstorm of pink flowers bursting from the corset. One delicate bubble in the skirt and a bow to accentuate it all had her looking every part the princess. Though it was customary to have her hair done up tight and adorned with jewels, she insisted on something comfortable. It was the least her parents could allow her considering her current situation.

“Announcing, Prince Spencer Reid of Lasmye,” the man on the balcony called. Y/N glanced upward to see him waving warmly to the crowd below. She’d seen him before on occasion, but never in formal attire. Thankfully, he cleaned up nicely, his normally messy hair tied back elegantly. 

With her parents on either side, she held her head high. She was not in the situation she wanted, but she would be damned if she didn’t keep her confidence in the eyes of the public. “Princess Y/N of Eskea and Prince Spencer of Lasmye!” He said happily, joining their hands together. Both royals took a bow before making an announcement about their engagement. As good royals did, they lied and left their public waiting anxiously for the upcoming wedding.

In the round of applause and celebration that followed, Y/N and Spencer slipped outside into the courtyard with both sets of bodyguards following closely behind. “Don’t try and court me now, Spencer,” Y/N snapped when she glanced up to see his hand outstretched to help her down the stairs. She ignored his help and glided down the steps on her own. 

“Just trying to help,” he said despondently. “No need to be curt about it.”

“No need to be curt? I’m being married off to a man I don’t know. I’m allowed to be curt.”

Spencer rolled his eyes. Neither of them wanted to be in this situation. “As I’m being married to a woman I don’t know. You don’t see me being rude about it.”

“Because Prince Spencer Reid is the perfect man in all the kingdoms,” she said facetiously. Floating toward the courtyard, she sat on a bench specifically so that he had no room to join her. 

“What is wrong with you?” He asked. “I’m trying to make the best of a bad situation. I’m marrying a shrew.”

“Excuse you?”

“Bottled spider,” he mumbled under his breath.

She cut her eyes at him and stood up. “Did you just call me a bottled spider?”

“Caught in a bottle she doesn’t want to be in and full of venom? It seems fitting,” he sneered.

“At least you’re intelligent,” she mused. “I’m a fan of Shakespeare myself. I prefer Othello though.”

“Richard the III and Hamlet are favorites, though I imagine I’ll be getting more acquainted with The Taming of the Shrew.”

“There’s small choice in rotten apples.”

\-----

Neither Spencer nor Y/N was happy with their arrangement, however, their shared love of Shakespeare made things a bit more bearable. Just four weeks after the ball, they were married in front of both of their kingdoms and according to her parents as well as Queen Diana, the tensions between the two countries had since died down.

The marriage had not been consummated and they were rarely in the same room together, but as the weeks went on, both found themselves easing into life as a married couple, trading Shakespearean insults as they passed each other in the hallways. 

Somehow, insults turned to the play itself. When she walked into the kitchen, Spencer was making some toast and had plated some for her as well. “You made me toast? That’s something a husband would do.”

“Well, I am your husband, and dare I say my wife is grating on my nerves as much anymore.”

Y/N laughed under her breath and took the toast. “You sure know how to woo a woman.”

“Who said I am trying to woo you?”

“You are,” she said. It wasn’t a thought she hated anymore, but somehow she felt like they were doing things completely out of order.

“Thou and I are too wise to woo peaceably.”

“True, Benedick.” Much Ado About Nothing. If they started quoting Romeo and Juliet to each other she might vomit.

\-----

Nearly six months of their marriage passed while the two attempted to love each other. They slept in separate rooms and between royal meetings and events they spent time together, watching movies, walking in the courtyard and talking about the paths that led them to their present. At the end of one night, he walked her to her bedroom down the hallway from his and peeked inside. “Parting is such sweet sorrow that I shall say goodnight till it be morrow.”

“I think I may throw up a little,” she laughed. 

“Good night, wife.”

“Good night, husband.”

Where did it come from? This thing called love.

“How did I come to care for such an annoying man?” She asked as the morning sun shone into their kitchen.

Spencer smiled. “I guess I’m like herpes.”

“Keep coming back but I make do?” She laughed.

“Pretty much. I wouldn’t love my herpes though.”

“You love me?” They’d come a long way since hating each other’s existence.

She nearly threw up in her mouth as she spoke. “I love you with so much of my heart that none is left to protest." 

“You’re gross,” he laughed. “But so am I. The course of love never did run smooth. I would not wish any companion in the world but you.”

“Did you just quote A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Tempest to me?”  
“I did, what are you going to do about it,” he smirked.

“Nothing. I think I just fell a little harder.”

“We’re like the modern day Katherine and Petruchio,” he said, toasting his toast in her direction.

She returned the gesture. “Except better.”

“Definitely better.”


End file.
